


Eyes like the skies

by Breathesmile



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 14:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16451735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Breathesmile/pseuds/Breathesmile
Summary: Prompt #: 44Title: Eyes like the skiesPairing: Baekhyun/SehunSummary: “Promise me to remember something. Humans were born on earth while gods and goddesses were born in the skies. And, maybe, it was for a reason. Promise me you’ll never forget that. Promise me you’ll remember that some things happen for a reason. Promise me.”





	Eyes like the skies

**Author's Note:**

> So, first of all, I'd like to thank the mods for holding this fest, for giving me the possibility to fill this beautiful prompt... I hope I've done justice to it...

Once upon a time, a goddess fell down from the skies. She had been hurt by her lover who had tried to kill her, by throwing her away from heavens. But she had survived the fall and was taken in by a village. They nursed her back to a full and vigorous health and, when she felt better and ready to attack her lover, she decided to go up to the skies. But, in exchange for the kindness and care she received from the villagers, she decided to give them a gift. She put her hand in her chest and took out a little piece of her heart. It was still beating, in her hand and, most importantly, it was glowing a pure and blinding light. She gave it to the chief of the village and spoke for the first time, since her fall.  
“This stone is made from my heart, and thus can give you the ability to flee from harm’s way. One day, objects will fall from the skies and you will no longer be safe on earth. But, since you saved me, it is going to save you too. This stone will take you up in the skies, where you will be safe. But only if you trust the one with the eyes like the skies.”  
The villagers were surprised but mostly confused and so she smiled, like a mother would to her young child having difficulty to understand something.  
“From now on, always look for the one with eyes like the skies. They will be the only one able to understand the stone. Without them, you won’t be able to rise to the skies. Trust them. Let them protect and keep my heart. And you will survive. But never forget they’re the only one able to save you all.”  
And, with one last smile, she opened her golden wings and flew up in the skies. The villagers never saw her again. No one fell from the skies ever again. But, every generation, a baby would be born with eyes like the skies, without pupils and a pure colour of blue.  
The legend was never forgotten.

 

***

_“Do you remember the legend about the goddess?”_  
_“Yes.”_  
_“You need to be strong, my boy. You’ll need it.”_  
_“Need it to do what?”_  
_“To stay alive.”_

 

***

Baekhyun remembers how he always looked up to the skies, when he was a kid. He remembers exactly how he used to sneak out when his mother was too busy with house chores. And he remembers how Sehun would almost every time join him on his rooftop, with a snack more often than not. He remembers how they were happy, together, how they ate chatting happily, how Sehun would do all he could to keep a poker face on when it was obvious he wanted to laugh at Baekhyun’s jokes.  
Baekhyun remembers when he saw the first bomb. Sehun remembers seeing it in Baekhyun’s eyes, remembers how those unknown objects reflected in the sky-blue of his friend’s eyes.  
They both remember the fear, how they both joined everyone in the market place, how some houses were already on fire, how people were crying and worried, screaming over each other’s voices to be able to be heard better. Sehun remembers feeling lost and afraid. He remembers how Baekhyun took his hand and hid him behind his body. Sehun remembers how everyone seemed to see Baekhyun, all at once, how everyone stopped talking and looked to him. They all knew it was his job to protect them. His duty. However unpleasant it may be.  
The rest is a bit fuzzy, for Sehun. But Baekhyun remembers it clearly. He remembers taking the stone in his hand and holding it to his heart. He remembers how he felt light. He remembers how their village started shaking and how everything and everyone started to float as the ground they had built on, had given birth on, had farmed on, as that same ground started to slowly elevate.  
The bombs were whistling around them, were destroying what had stayed behind. Everyone was scared. But Sehun was the only one who saw.  
He was the only one who caught Baekhyun when he fainted

 

***

_“Promise me to remember something. Humans were born on earth while gods and goddesses were born in the skies. And, maybe, it was for a reason. Promise me you’ll never forget that. Promise me you’ll remember that some things happen for a reason. Promise me.”_

 

***

“Hurry up, Sehun! We’re going to be late!”  
And he does, hurry. Really. But he has so many things to do before going out. Putting on socks, hiding his daggers on himself, not forgetting his shoes, saying goodbye to his mother and… leaving. But he knows Baekhyun is used to it, it’s always been like that, between them. He knows that, when he’s outside, finally, Baekhyun’s eyes are going to have a little and soft pink tint, one he’s come to understand is an amused one.  
“Gods, I almost drowned myself in the skies waiting for you!”  
Childishly and because he never wanted to see his friend grow up this quickly, Sehun sticks his tongue out at the oldest. Sometimes, like this moment, he wonders if maybe those eyes aren’t more of a curse than anything else. And on even rarer times, he wonders if Baekhyun really has the shoulders for them.  
But he doesn’t say anything more, doesn’t ask all the questions going in circles inside his head. He’s not sure he’d like the answers.  
“What’s today’s plan?” Sehun asks, instead.  
And Baekhyun shrugs. The pink from his eyes disappear, a dull grey replacing it.  
“Just the council. I’m not sure I’ll have the strength for anything more.”  
And Sehun nods. Because he knows. He knows how taxing a meeting of the council can be on Baekhyun. No twenty-two man should be asked to be the leader of a village of almost a thousand people. But he knows what to say.  
“Do you want to go to the underground gardens, after?”  
And there is no mistaking the bright yellow in Baekhyun’s eyes. Like the sun appearing after a storm. And Baekhyun’s smile is always the most beautiful one Sehun has ever seen. His responding smile stretching his own lips without thinking.  
“Yes!”  
And Sehun sees it. He sees the love in those eyes. And he feels the same feeling expanding in his chest, when Baekhyun takes his hand and starts to babble excitedly, pulling him along to the mayor’s house.  
But he’s still afraid.

 

***

_“Do you think I’m going to fail?”_  
_“I don’t know. Do you love him?”_  
_“Yes.”_  
_“Then you’ll succeed. For him. And even if you don’t, you won’t lose him.”_  
_“I hope you’re right. I’d rather die than lose him.”_

 

***

“We don’t have enough meat! You should help us more, you’re always complaining and never doing anything to help the village!”  
“Look who’s talking! Isn’t it you who refused to give your grains because the sun was too hot for you?”  
“You both never work enough, we’re all going to starve if you keep this up!”  
Sehun keeps holing Baekhyun’s hand, under the table. He doesn’t look his way but he knows what he’d see. Grey clouds. Lifeless skies. And it hurts. But the goddess is a mean one.  
“You should be more responsible!”  
“You mean like you? Do you think I should go and fuck with all the women from my neighbourhood and abandon them and their unborn children like you did?!”  
And the shouts grow more violent, louder. Insults are thrown everywhere, men are standing up and Baekhyun curls up on his chair, putting his feet on it and hiding behind his knees.  
Sehun remembers a time when Baekhyun was more round than slim. When he would have chubby and round cheeks. Now, he barely eats. Walks so much his fat disappeared. And Sehun hurts.  
“Child of the goddess! What should we do?”  
Silence rings suddenly, at the question of the mayor. And Baekhyun straightens, his hand leaving Sehun’s. And Sehun hurts even more. Children born after them don’t even know Baekhyun’s real name. Only his function.  
“What should you do about what?”  
His voice is flat. Void of any life. And Sehun is afraid. For him. For them. For the village.  
“About the lack of meat, of course! Did you not hear a word of what we were saying?”  
“I was until you started being idiots and acting like children in a playground.”  
The other men gasp, like it’s the first time Baekhyun talked to them like that. Sehun doesn’t smile nor does he feel proud of Baekhyun’s answer. He’s just afraid.  
“How dare you talk to your elders that way?! You should-”  
“I’m the child of the goddess, remember? You’re the ones who should be respecting me.”  
And Sehun hates it. Because he knows Baekhyun hates that title, hates being treated differently, hates having to be here, at this meeting, taking care of things he shouldn’t be taking care of.  
“You’re all selfish. You do realize that we don’t have as much land as before, tight? You do realise that we should be careful with our resources, or else we’re all going to die. You know best what to do so everyone can eat. I’ll let you deal with it but I warn you, if by next week’s meeting you haven’t solved this problem, you’ll regret it.”  
Baekhyun stands and Sehun follows, without a word, without a sound. No one talks, everyone stunned into silence. It’s only when they’re both outside that Baekhyun takes Sehun’s hand, his fingers gripping tight. When Sehun squeezes his fingers, gently and warmly, Baekhyun looks at him.  
His eyes pitch black.

 

***

_“Do you think this will get better, one day?”_  
_“I don’t know.”_

 

***

They lie on the grass, looking at the skies, still so far, even if they left the ground. Sehun wants to hold Baekhyun’s hand but he’s afraid. What if the oldest refuses to let him help?  
“What are you thinking of?” Asks Baekhyun.  
And Sehun doesn’t even have to think about it. “You.”  
Baekhyun’s body turns to him, the youngest can feel his gaze on the side of his face.  
“What are we, Sehun?”  
The question throws him off.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Are we best friends? Childhood friends? Friends? Or… Lovers?”  
And Sehun turns to face him, too. He looks into Baekhyun’s eyes. Sees a light gray, soft clouds clouding his gaze. Uncertainty, most certainly.  
“Would you like to be lovers?”  
“Yes. But only if you want to.”  
And Sehun smiles. Takes Baekhyun’s hand. The clouds and the grey disappear. Baekhyun’s smile is as blinding as the sun in his eyes. Their faces come closer and their lips touch. Just a soft pressure. Because Sehun is afraid of breaking this boy who had to grow up too soon. Barely knew how to talk and was already considered as a part-time leader of their village.  
“I’ll always love you, Baek.”  
They separate, open their eyes and Sehun sees clouds filled with rain, a slight blue tainting them.  
“Me, too, Hun-ah. Always and forever.”  
He doesn’t want to think about the meaning of theses skies. Just wants to remember this afternoon. The feeling of Baekhyun close, of his warmth, of his love. Because Sehun hurts. And worries.  
“What are you thinking of, Sehun?”  
Silence. Should he be honest? He promised Baekhyun, a long time ago, to never lie to him. He promised his grandma, too. So, even is his stomach is tied in knots and he feels his heart beating too fast, he answers. Truthfully.  
“I’m thinking about you. I’m wondering if we should really have flown into the skies. If, maybe, things wouldn’t have been easier on the ground, were we knew how to work, how to be. I’m worried I’ll lose you.”  
This last sentence was merely a whisper but, judging by the look on Baekhyun’s face, he heard him.  
“Don’t you think we’re like fish, Sehun-ah?”  
“What?” His brows furrow. He doesn’t understand.  
“Fish can only live in water, right? They were made to live in it and were put there by the gods. What if, maybe, humans were the same?”  
“We can’t live underwater.” Sehun means it as a joke but doesn’t even get a chuckle. Nothing. Just empty skies and a thoughtful face.  
“We were put on land so maybe it was for a reason. Maybe we were supposed to live on land.”  
And Sehun understands. But he’s scared, as always.  
“We live on land.”  
“But it isn’t land anymore, Hun-ah. It stopped being land when we flew up to the skies. You know it too. We’re all dying. We were never meant to survive.”  
And, for the first time in so so long, Sehun doesn’t know what to do when Baekhyun starts crying.

 

***

_“Do you think we’ll survive?”_  
_“Your love will never fade, I can promise you that.”_

 

***

Years pass, time never stops when Sehun would want it to. He can’t even go back in time, to take Baekhyun someplace happier, safer, lighter. He can only hold him when he cries his eyes out, his right hand barely moving anymore. Last month, an angry farmer sprained Baekhyun’s hand. Just a few hours before, an orphan threw a stone on it. And Sehun knows that his lover isn’t crying because of physical pain.  
He’s still supposed to be their leader. But their land is dying and no one wants to understand that this is not Baekhyun’s fault. Sehun is pretty sure that, even aged four, if he had been asked, Baekhyun would have refused to take them all to the skies. But it’s too late, now. It doesn’t stop the regrets, though.  
Nor the tears.  
And Sehun hurts. He can’t even make his love laugh, not anymore. If he’s lucky, he’ll win a smile. Nothing all. And it hurts so, so much… But they can’t do anything about it. Not anymore.  
“What are you thinking of?” Comes the broken question.  
“How much I love you.”  
The tears don’t stop but, when Baekhyun finally falls asleep, it’s on his side, spooned by Sehun’s bigger and taller body. A peaceful expression on his face.  
It’s the only think Sehun knows how to do well.

 

***

_Sehun hides behind a door. His heart beats fast. The floor creaks, behind the door. A giggle escapes him. Noises stop. Sehun breathes a bit easier. He’s tackled to the ground by Baekhyun. They laugh._  
_Later, Sehun will be scolded by his mother, a smile on her face even as she screams at him for having yet another bump on his head._  
_But Baekhyun’s smirk makes it all better._

 

***

“What are you thinking of?”  
Sehun chuckles. “When did that become our question?”  
“When it was how we became lovers.” Baekhyun smirks, a rare enough occasion Sehun prays for it to stay that way.  
“Don’t you think it was the following question that made us lovers?” He abandoned his book to slowly crawl to Baekhyun, swaying his hips suggestively. A giggle escapes Baekhyun’s throat, his eyes bright yellow and Sehun hides his pleasant surprise.  
“Do you think I’m a bird while you’re a cat?”  
“You’re the most beautiful canary I’ve ever seen. The most appetizing one, too.”  
Their noses touch, Baekhyun biting his lower lip to contain his laugh. Sehun softly bites his nose, just to push him over the edge. Or more likely, hoping to push him over the edge.  
And it works. Baekhyun laughs, his voice loud, his eyes closing, tears soon falling down. And Sehun laughs too, pleased and reassured. And maybe, just maybe, he can believe in it.  
Maybe they will all be alright.

 

***

_They hold hands. Baekhyun points out constellations, in the skies. Sehun sees weird shapes instead. They laugh. The stars weren’t this close, before. But it’s easier to make jokes about it. Sehun keeps destroying the constellations. Seeing things he shouldn’t see, only to make Baekhyun laugh._  
_It still works._

 

***

“Please, no, he isn’t responsible!” Sehun screams but no one seems to understand his words. He’s crying.  
“He’s her pawn, if she wants to save him, she’ll do! Otherwise, we’ll kill him just like he’s killing all of us!”  
Sehun tries to break free from the ropes holding him down. They wanted him to watch it. Wanted him to be afraid, too. And he is. But not for Baekhyun. For them all. And especially for himself.  
“Please, he didn’t do anything…” He begs them, abandoned all his dignity that morning, when they barged into their house, took them from their bed, tied them. Took them to one certain edge of their little island.  
For a few years, now, the villagers have been throwing in the skies traitors, orphans, unwanted people. Both Sehun and Baekhyun knew their turn would come. Sehun had only hoped they would be executed at the same time.  
“Please!”  
“Hun-ah, stop.”  
His voice is choked, barely understandable. But Sehun is near. Baekhyun doesn’t cry. His eyes void of everything. A soft smile still stretching his lips. As if he were saying, “We knew it would happen.” Because they did. But Sehun always preferred dreams and hopes to reality.  
“Please don’t leave me I-” A sob breaks his sentence and his head hangs low. He wants nothing more than to hold Baekhyun’s hand, one last time. But he can’t move.  
“I’ll wait for you, my love.”  
He’s taken away, the villagers seemingly having decided they had enough of their farewell.  
Sehun keeps sobbing. Doesn’t even look up when they push Baekhyun, straight to the earth. So, so far away.  
He doesn’t stop crying.

 

***

_They were together from birth. Their mothers were friends. Baekhyun loved this tiny baby, the moment he saw him. This love grew. Never stopped._

 

***

Later, that night, a grandma takes pity in Sehun and cuts the ropes still tying him to the ground. He doesn’t feel his legs nor his arms. Is too tired. They decided to leave him to die, out here, to be starved to death. He doesn’t even know who exactly freed him. Doesn’t want to know.  
“You promised me. You said, that if I were strong, we wouldn’t fail…”  
He starts crawling. It hurts. His tears start falling again.  
“You said I would succeed… You lied.”  
But he knows she never did. He knows, deep inside, that he knew this was going to happen, ever since she told him how humans were made to live on earth. And he knows Baekhyun knew it too.  
It only makes his own fall easier.

 

***

Once upon a time, a goddess fell from the skies. She was rescued and healed by the people of a village she had fallen close to. This goddess, to thank them from their help, gave them a curse.  
She told them one of them would be cursed, forced to serve and be the propriety of the village, until that person died. She said, that, one day, they would be attacked by neighbours because they’re too selfish, never think of the others, that someday other villages will want to destroy them all. And she told them the cursed person would save them. Would take them up into the skies.  
She told them going up into the skies would only make their fate worse but they still went up. They destroyed their little island. They killed the cursed man and his lover. Soon after, they all died and their little island disappeared in the skies.  
The cursed man and his lover were welcomed by the goddess, became little lights in her eyes. If you look close enough, when you catch her eyes, if she’s happy, you can see two little suns appearing in her right eye, being so close they almost look like one. Nothing will ever bring them apart, now.


End file.
